When someone wants to collaborate with you on a joint venture, clarifying what this means at the start will prevent many disappointments, unfulfilled expectations and lost opportunities
by CARL FLETCHER
“Many hands make light work.” “Two heads are better than one.” “It’s not what you know but who you know.” Our society has a number of maxims that speak to the power of working together to achieve common goals.
Since anything that can be done can be done well, what are the keys to working well together? Any relationship excels when the following is the case:
- There is a common understanding of a shared vision.
- The execution of that shared vision brings benefits to all parties beyond what they believe they could achieve either on their own or as part of a different team effort.
- There is effective, constant communication among the members, including timely evaluations, goal setting and valid praise that reaffirms and values members of the relationship.
- Trust is maintained through execution of responsibilities by members, by respecting other group members and by always working for the benefit of the group, both inside and outside the alliance. Trust needs to be continually earned.
So when someone approaches you, your business or your organization and says let’s work together, what are they asking?
It could mean a variety of things and clarifying what this means at the start of the venture will prevent many disappointments, unfulfilled expectations and lost opportunities.
The Working Together Assessment Worksheet is one tool that can you help clarify a proposed joint effort. The worksheet is based on the Collaboration Framework categories created by the National Network for Collaboration, a United States Department of Agriculture project established to improve the lives of children, youth and families.
Working Together Assessment Worksheet |
Working together level |
Purpose |
Structure |
Process |
Check if preferred arrangement |
Networking |
Share information, resources, contacts
.
Mutual promotion |
Flat – no hierarchy
Informal, loose, flexible links |
Low key leadership
Minimal decision-making
Little conflict
Informal communication |
|
Co-operation
or alliance |
Match needs and provide co-ordination
Limit duplication
Ensure tasks are done |
Central communication hub
Semi-formal links
Roles somewhat defined
Links are advisory
Group may raise or leverage funding if needed |
Facilitative leaders
Complex decision-making
Some conflict
Formal communication within the central group
|
|
Co-ordination or partnership |
Share resources to address common issues
Merge resource base to create something new
|
Decision makers form central body
Roles defined
Links formalized
Group develops new resources and joint budget |
Independent leadership focused on common issue
Group decision-making in central and subgroups
Communication is frequent and clear |
|
Coalition |
Share ideas and be willing to pull resources from existing systems
Development commitment for three years |
All members involved in decision-making
Roles and time defined
Links formal with written agreement
Group develops new resources and joint budget |
Shared leadership
Decision-making formal with all members
Common prioritized communication
Higher risk of conflict |
|
Collaboration |
Accomplish a shared vision that will change the benchmarks
Build interdependent system to address issues and opportunities,
even in some cases to the point of significantly changing original members’ organization to improve the collaboration
|
Consensus used in shared decision-making
Roles, time and evaluation formalized
Links are formalized in work assignments |
Leadership high, trust level high, productivity high
Ideas and decisions equally shared
Highly developed communication |
|
Since the words partnership, co-operation, alliance, coalition, collaboration and joint venture are often used as interchangeable expressions for working together in everyday language, it is important to have a common understanding among the players as to what level are they working together at.
Beyond the type of working relationship, it is also important to ask whether this is a good business or organization to work with? Is this a good strategic fit that will help accomplish my goals better than if we weren’t working together?
An organization that can provide access to such resources as inputs, technologies, equipment, expertise, information, finance, market access or credibility your business does not have is a good candidate for working together. Shared goals and similar working styles will also make the working relationship easier and more effective.
There are always risks in working together and care should be taken to analyze the legal, financial and other potential, liabilities involved. “Guilty by association” is a reputation risk that can happen from partners’ actions within your project or from their independent operations.
The recent focus on creating more effective value chains as an opportunity for farmers to harvest greater returns is an example of working together effectively. I would rate effective value chains as a Collaborative working arrangement based on the Assessment Worksheet.
This winter a series of Value Chain workshops is being offered across the province and Canada. The one-day training workshops are designed to show how best management practices in collaboration across the value chain can create profit opportunities along the chain.
For more information on the Value Chain workshop locations, contact the George Morris Centre at www.georgemorris.org.
Working together more effectively creates Better Decisions. Better Decisions lead to Better Farming.
BF
Carl Fletcher is a Program Lead in Strategic Business Planning with OMAFRA. He can be reached at 1-888-466-2372, ext. 3235, or by email at carl.fletcher@omafra.gov.on.ca .